Visual Arts Department Mission

Studying the visual arts is an interactive hands-on learning experience where students learn the basic concepts and skills that are common to all visual arts disciplines. Students develop their problem-solving skills by learning how to design and execute a piece, assess it, and refine it. In the beginning-level classes, the focus is on developing the skills and concepts of the discipline, which will enhance a student’s ability to express herself in the visual arts. In the upper level classes, emphasis is placed on learning how to critique, analyze, and interpret art while undertaking more complex and meaningful studio projects. Art making affords an outlet for personal expression and girls may explore and express things they cannot communicate in words.

Our curriculum supports the needs of girls by offering them many opportunities in the arts. A conscious effort is made to use the work of women artists as examples in the classroom. The artists who exhibit in the Geissler Gallery are often women, and each gives a gallery talk to the student body about her experience and life as an artist. We also offer assistance in portfolio preparation to seniors for college admission.